Two new temnospondyl amphibians from Africa

Two new amphibians from the Late Permain Moradi Formation of Niger were described this week in the journal Nature. The two specimens are new to science and seem to indicate a unique fauna for central West Africa during the Late Permain. The fossils differ in relationship to other Late Permain reptiles from South Africa, suggesting an ecological difference between the two areas. The Moradi Formation has previously produced the Captorhinid Moradisaurus and Pareiasaurid Bunostegia, both anapsid reptiles.



Sidor, C. A., O'Keefe F. R., Damiani, R., Steyer, J. S., Smith R. M. H., Larsson, H., Sereno, P. C., Ide, O. and Maga, A. Permian tetrapods from the Sahara show climate-controlled endemism in Pangaea. Nature 434, 886-889 (14 April.